Those interested in preserving John Steinbeck’s Sag Harbor home as a writing center must have been buoyed on Tuesday afternoon as the proposal coasted through a public hearing during a Southampton Town Board meeting, with nary a single comment against it.
Schools Feel the Sting of Interest Rate Hikes
A seemingly routine aspect of public-school finance is tripping up local school districts that find themselves having to borrow money during the months before tax revenue starts to flow in. “The interest rates have gone through the roof and are continuing to increase,” Jennifer Buscemi, business administrator for the Sag Harbor School District, told the Sag school board on Monday.
January 26, 2023
LaLota’s First Weeks in Congress
Representative Nicholas LaLota of the First Congressional District had quite a wild ride in his opening days as a freshman Republican in the 118th Congress. There was the epic and very public battle to name Kevin McCarthy as house speaker — and then there was George Santos, the newly elected representative from Nassau County whose résumé turned out to be a pack of lies and who now faces ongoing opprobrium from almost all quarters.
Jan 26, 2023
Traffic Circle Nixed at Busy East Hampton Intersection
A New York State Department of Transportation plan to install a traffic circle or stop lights at the intersection of Route 114 and Main Street/Route 27 in East Hampton Village has been halted, and the mayor says that's good news.
Jan 25, 2023
Police & Courts
Two cases, one involving drunken-driving charges against a Montauk fishing-boat captain and another involving an assault charge against an East Hampton man, were recently resolved in town justice court.
Jan 25, 2023
A neighbor’s floodlight was shining into a woman’s Franklin Avenue, Sag Harbor, bedroom on Friday night and she called police to complain about it.
Jan 26, 2023
A house on Queen’s Lane in East Hampton was the scene of two assaults on the night of Jan. 7, allegedly perpetrated by men with the same last name. East Hampton Town police did not spell out their relationship, if any.
Jan 25, 2023
Government
Dave Calone, a former chairman of the Suffolk County Planning Commission who has a background in law and business, is officially the Suffolk County Democratic Committee’s candidate of choice for county executive. Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman, who told The Southampton Press late last year that he was considering running for county executive, confirmed Sunday that he has opted not to run.
Jan 26, 2023
As a proposed plan to build a wastewater treatment plant in Montauk’s Hither Woods moves forward into what is sure to be a headline-grabbing 2023 of ongoing rancor and debate among a growing cadre of opponents, one tidbit has emerged from the flurry of meetings, emails, and presentations that have been associated with the proposal put forth by the East Hampton Town Board: To date, no detailed design specs of the proposed facility have been put into the public record by the town, even as a proposed conceptual diagram by the engineering firm that created it has become a key document motivating sewage plant detractors.
Jan 26, 2023
Ongoing litigation in federal court between East Hampton Town and East Hampton Village over the use and storage of controversial firefighting foam at the town airport by the village’s Fire Department remains in limbo even as the State Department of Environmental Conservation “continues to oversee the town’s remedial investigation” at the site, the agency said this week.
Jan 26, 2023
At the recommendation of its project engineer, D.B. Bennett, the East Hampton Town Board has rejected the latest bids to complete Phase III restoration work at Montauk’s historic Second House and museum.
Jan 26, 2023
Villages
Bees Also Have Needs in Winter
While the bees are mostly hive-bound and slowed by the cold of winter, it’s not a time of rest for a beekeeper.
On the Wing: The Great Chickadee Search
Looking for a walk and a challenge, I went to the Mulvihill Preserve in Noyac to hunt for wild chickadees. Hard? No. A unique reason to be in the woods? Yes. A winter activity for a winter bird.
Item of the Week: Thomas Jefferson’s Plants and Wine
In this letter, Thomas Jefferson seeks the help of the Bridgehampton-born David Gelston, who had been appointed by Jefferson as collector of customs for New York in 1801.
